Towed aerial target

ABSTRACT

Target comprises at least three right triangular panels of flexible sheet material with their long sides fastened together. A collapsible frame comprises a longitudinal bar running along the sides attached together and a transverse bar extending along the rear edge of each panel pivotally connected to the rear end of the longitudinal bar.

United States Patent Pasqualini 51 Sept. 12, 1972 TOWED AERIAL TARGET 871,156 11/1907 Aasen...... ..244/3.3 X [72] Inventor: Joseph Pasqualini, 2 Rue du Parc 1,243,542 10/1917 M0018 ..244/3.27 de a Lande 94 plessisqrevise 2,270,884 1/1942 Manson ..273/ 105.3 France 2,419,549 4/1947 Griesinger et a1. 273ll05.3 2,465,401 3/1949 Skinner ..244/3.28 [22] Filed: Dec. 4, 1970 [211 App]. No; 95,161 Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oeclhsle Attorney-Holcombe, Wetherill & Brisebois [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Jan. 8, 1970 France ..700060l Target comprises at least three right triangular panels of flexible sheet material with their long sides fastened [52] US. Cl ..273/ 105.3, 244/153 together; A collapsible frame comprises a longitudinal [51] Int. Cl. ..F41j 9/10 bar running along the sides attached together and a Field of Search 3/ 1 transverse bar extending along the rear edge of each 30 panel pivotally connected to the rear end of the longitudinal bar. [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3 Claims, 4 Drawing lFigures Zimmerman ..244/15 3 Patented Sept. 12, 1972 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Sa'pt. 12, 1972 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inverdof I. P-ASQUALIN\ UJMMAM TOWED AERIAL TARGET SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to towed aerial targets, in par ticular those of the type formed by the intersection of two triangular plane members which are perpendicular to each other.

Conventional targets of this type consist of light but rigid panels connected to each other. When the towing aircraft is taking off, this target is attached beneath a wing and it consequently cannot be given the desired dimensions because of the lack of space and the risk that it will drag on the ground. On the other hand, during take-off, the target creates a parasitic drag and lift which may disturb the balance of the airplane and render it difficult to control. Finally, the transportation and storage of these targets is inconvenient because of their bulk.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a target of this type which is collapsibleso as to occupy the smallest possible volume and which unfolds automatically when released from the airplane.

The invention consists in making the visible portion of the target from a flexible material such as cloth, net material, or film, in the form of four elongated right triangles perpendicular two by two and connected along the longer of the two sides forming the right angle. (In this specification the term side is hereinafter used exclusively to identify one of the two sides forming the right angle, to the exclusion of the hypotenuse. When the hypotenuse is intended, that specific term is used.) The point of attachment is at the front end of this long side. At its back end is'a framework consisting of four rigid bars each attached along the short side of one of the triangles and pivotally connected to the rear end of a fifth bar extending along part of the long side common tosaid triangles so as to be foldable against this fifth bar. Each triangle may moreover be extended rearwardly by a rectangular panel which assists the unfolding process. I In order that the object of the invention may be better understood, one embodiment thereof will now be described, purely by way of illustration and example, with reference to the accompanying drawing on which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the target in unfolded position;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view on a larger scale, showing the details of the pivotal connections between the five bars;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line III-Ill OF FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a view showing the target folded up.

As best seen on FIG. 1, the target according to the invention has a shape which is in general that obtained by connecting four identical right triangles l, 2, 3 and 4 along their long sides 5. In fact, as shown in FIG. 3, the triangles 1 and 2 are formed from a single panel in the shape of an isosceles triangle and the triangles 3 and 4 are sewed to opposite sides thereof along its altitude 5. These various panels are made of a flexible material, preferably a textile net material, so that the target is flexible except for a rear frame made of the four bars 6, 7, 8 and 9 positioned in the form of a cross and each pivotally connected to the fifth bar 10. As best seen in FIG. 2, each of the bars 6, 7, 8 and 9 consists of a section of fiberglass tubing having a great shock resistance, each section being attached at its central end to a metallic plug 11 by means of a pin, or adhesively, or by force fitting or by means of screw threads. This plug is provided at its end with a. transverse bore 12. The fifth tube 10, which is identical to the others, is also attached to a plug 13 which is welded at its end to a cross-shaped pivot pin carrier 14, having the shape shown in FIG. 2, so as to provide four pairs of flanges to which the plugs 11 are pivotally attached by pins 15. Each of these pins passes through the hole 16 in one flange of a pair, then through the transverse bore 12 in the corresponding plug and is then screwed by its threaded end 17 into the threaded hole 18 in the other flange of the pair.

Each of the four bars 6, 7, 8 and 9 extends the full length of the short side of one of the triangular panels 1, 2, 3, or 4 and is fastened in a hem 19 extending the length of that side. The fifth bar 10 may have a length I slightly less than that of the four others and is inserted in a sort of tubular sheath extending along the side 5 near the right angle.

It will be seen from FIG. 3 that if the isosceles triangle constituting panels 1 and 2 be supposed to lie flat, the panels 3 and 4 are placed above it and below it, thus providing for each of them an edge (20 and 21) which is to be sewn to the preceding panel. Between the edge 21 of the panel 4 and of the panel 1-2 is a strip 22 doubled to form the tubular sheath into which the bar 10 is introduced. Above and below the assembly a strip 23, which extends the entire length of the side 5, is folded at the rear end to form a loop 24, as shown in FIG. 2, and then extends the full length of the side 5 on the other side of the panels l-2 and is folded again at the front end to form the other loop 25 serving as a point of attachment for the tow line. Thedevice is then sewn together for its entire length by means of one or more parallel threads passing through the various layers.

The member 14 comprises, between two pairs of flanges,two partitions 26 and 27 spaced the width of the strip and pierced by a smooth hole 28 in the wall 26 and a threaded hole 29 in the wall 27 to permit the attachment of the strip 23 by means of a pin 30 analogous to the pin 15 and passing through the hole 28, and then the eye 24 in the strip before being screwed into the hole 29. The axis of the target lies along the intersection of the planes 1-2 and 34. FIGS. 2 and 3 show that the attachment 26-27 for the strip is spaced to the left of this axis whereas the plug 13 is spaced to the right and downwardly thereof so that the axes of the four bars are each exactly in the plane of the corresponding triangle.

The target made in this manner is folded up by swinging the four bars 6, 7, 8 and 9 to the front, that is to say against the bar 10, whereupon all the rest of the target may be easily folded so that the complete device takes up only a small amount of room, as schematically shown on FIG. 4. A target having; dimensions greater than 5 meters long and 2 meters wide may thus be stored in a cylinder a meter long and about 25 cm in diameter. This target is placed in a container hooked beneath the wing of the towing airplane and is stowed in the bottom of this container in a conventional manner together with an explosive charge, not shown, positioned in the socket 10 extending from the rear of the pivot member 14. The tow line 32, suitably attached to the eye 25, is stowed in another container in a conventional manner.

During release, it then suffices to detonate the explosive charge in order to project the folded target into the atmosphere in which it automatically unfolds to its final form due to the resistance of the air. This unfolding is often very abrupt if the airplane is flying at a high speed, but by using very strong pivot means and laminated tubes having great shock resistance for the bars, this unfolding takes place without damage and even permits subsequent release of the target and its recovery on the ground for re-use.

As an improvement, a rectangular panel 33 may be sewn to the back of each of the short sides of the triangles behind the hem 19. These may be made of the same material as the triangular panels and, because of the resistance which they offer to the air, they facilitate the deployment of the frame during the release and also increase the surface area of the target.

The invention makes it possible to provide a target of very large dimensions, which nevertheless takes up very little space in folded form, thus considerably facilitating its transport and storage as well as its use, in particular during aircraft manoeuvers.

It will of course be understood that the embodiment which has just been described has been given purely by way of illustration and example, and may be modified as to detail without thereby departing from the basic principles of the invention. ln particular it is possible to produce identical targets having a number of panels other than four, for example, three positioned at 120 with respect to each other with the framework made of three bars disposed at angles of to each other and pivoted to fold on a central fourth bar.

What is claimed is:

l. Towed aerial target comprising at least three substantially right triangular panels connected together along their long sides, with their shorter sides being positioned at the rear from the point of view of the direction of towing, said panels being made of a flexible sheet material supported on a frame positioned at the rear of the target, said frame comprising at least three transverse bars, each attached along the short side of one of the panels, each of said bars being pivotally connected at one end to a longitudinal bar attached to the long sides of said panels.

2. Aerial target as claimed in claim 1 which comprises four triangular panels, two of which lie in the same plane and are made from a single piece of material to the opposite sides of which the two other panels are attached, together with a member forming a sleeve within which the longitudinal bar is seated and fastened, and a strip which is sewn to the opposite sides of said single piece of material and looped at the front and the back to form eyes for attachment to the pivotal connection for the four bars and the tow line respectively.

3. Aerial target as claimed in claim 1 which comprises at the rear beyond each of said transverse bars a substantially rectangular panel attached along one side to a bar and free on its other sides. 

1. Towed aerial target comprising at least three substantially right triangular panels connected together along their long sides, with their shorter sides being positioned at the rear from the point of view of the direction of towing, said panels being made of a flexible sheet material supported on a frame positioned at the rear of the target, said frame comprising at least three transverse bars, each attached along the short side of one of the panels, each of said bars being pivotally connected at one end to a longitudinal bar attached to the long sides of said panels.
 2. Aerial target as claimed in claim 1 which comprises four triangular panels, two of which lie in the same plane and are made from a single piece of material to the opposite sides of which the two other panels are attached, together with a member forming a sleeve within which the longitudinal bar is seated and fastened, and a strip which is sewn to the opposite sides of said single piece of material and looped at the front and the back to form eyes for attachment to the pivotal connection for the four bars and the tow line respectively.
 3. Aerial target as claimed in claim 1 which comprises at the rear beyond each of said transverse bars a substantially rectangular panel attached along one side to a bar and free on its other sides. 